Taipei's stray cats now have an association all their own which will look after their wellbeing in a metropolitan environment that can often be inhospitable.
Sara Choi, the founder of the association, told a press conference about the mistreatment she witnessed years ago that spurred her to form the group.
"I don't know how my neighbors had the heart to poison cats or get rid of kittens by tossing them off the 12th floor," the South Korean said.
PHOTO: ANGELICA OUNG, TAIPEI TIMES
Choi, who first came to Taipei from South Korea as a student, soon began to take in strays she found at the market or in the streets close to her home.
She now works for an airline company and keeps 11 cats of her own in her 109m2 apartment.
"I realized that eventually my individual powers to make a difference would be limited and that is why we formed this association" Choi said.
"Our goal is to neuter 20 cats a month and adopt at least one," she said.
Choi says that Trap, Neuter and Release (TNR) is a more humane and sensible approach to controlling the population of stray cats in the city than euthanasia.
"Human beings are the ones making the city dirty by littering. This brings in the rats, followed by the cats," Choi said.
She added that the association captures strays, neuters them and assesses whether they are suitable for adoption.
"Some cats are too wild and not suitable to be house pets, so we put them back out there after we've neutered them," she said.
"Every city needs a certain population of cats or we'll be overrun by rats," she said.
At the association's inaugural meeting yesterday, a number of cat owners who have chosen to adopt unwanted cats rather than buy them from a pet store showed off their beloved felines.
"We did not want to support the cat breeding industry in Taiwan, as many of its players do not operate in an ethical manner," said Chiu Yu-te (
The association has yet to come up with an English name.
ONE LAST TALK: While Xi said that Taiwan was a ‘red line,’ Biden, in what is likely his last meeting with Xi as president, called for an end to China’s military activity around Taiwan China’s military intimidation and economic coercion against Taiwan are the main causes of tensions that are destabilizing peace in the Taiwan Strait, Taipei said yesterday while thanking US President Joe Biden for expressing Washington’s firm stance of maintaining peace and stability in the region. Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) met on Saturday for their third meeting and their first talks in seven months on the sidelines of the APEC forum in Lima, Peru. It was likely Biden’s last meeting as president with Xi. During their conversation, Biden reiterated the US’ opposition to any unilateral change to the “status quo” from either
Taiwan would participate in the 2026 APEC summit to be hosted by China after Beijing promised it would ensure the personal safety of attendees, Taiwanese national security sources said yesterday. The APEC Leaders’ Machu Picchu Declaration announced yesterday said that China would host the APEC summit in 2026. Beijing proposed hosting the summit shortly before this year’s gathering began on Friday, a national security official said, speaking on condition of anonymity. Many APEC members expressed concerns about China hosting the event and said that prior communication over the decision was insufficient, the official said. Taiwan brought up concerns about legal “guidelines” China announced in
SUPPORT: Arms sales to NATO Plus countries such as Japan, South Korea and Israel only have to be approved by the US Congress if they exceed US$25m The US should amend a law to add Taiwan to the list of “NATO Plus” allies and streamline future arms sales, a US commission said on Tuesday in its annual report to the US Congress. The recommendation was made in the annual report by the US-China Economic and Security Review Commission (USCC), which contained chapters on US-China economic and trade ties, security relations, and Taiwan and Hong Kong. In the chapter on Taiwan, the commission urged the US Congress to “amend the Arms Export Control Act of 1976 to include Taiwan on the list of ‘NATO Plus’ recipients,” referring to
MEET AND GREET: The White House, which called the interaction ‘just a handshake,’ did not immediately respond to a request for comment on whether Biden planned to visit Taiwan’s envoy to the APEC summit, Lin Hsin-i (林信義), on Friday invited US President Joe Biden to visit Taiwan. During the APEC Leaders’ Informal Dialogue, Lin, who represented President William Lai (賴清德) at the summit, spoke with Biden and expressed gratitude to the outgoing US president for his contribution to improving bilateral ties between Taipei and Washington over the past four years, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said. Lin and Biden exchanged views during the conversation, with Lin extending an invitation to Biden to visit Taiwan, it said. Biden is to step down in January next year, when US president-elect Donald Trump is